1. Shinon wears a green cloak and a brown tunic over his armor, The cloak conceals his quiver, which increases the odds of him catching an enemy off-guard when he needs to attack them from a distance. Shinon's cloak is a full-bodied cloak that reaches down to his ankles. He wears a pair of brown, shoelaced heavy-duty hunting boots that protect his feet completely and allow him to dig his feet into the ground to resist the slippery mud and grime in the city.

2. Due to his Elven blood, Shinon has, many times, heard the call of the wild in his heart, but he loves the city too much to ever leave it. However, with all the shady business that's been going on lately, Shinon is starting to get more and more suspicious. He's having doubts that all is as it seems, and he is determined to get to the bottom of it.

3. From an early age, Shinon displayed an uncanny knack for being able to remain hidden. Because of this, Shinon practiced moving quietly in heavier armor and managed to break in his armor a bit, and reduce some of the restrictions, allowing him to slip quietly through the city with better protections.

4. Shinon is a serious person who doesn't trust anyone. This stems from an a conflict he had in the past with a person whom he thought was his best friend Traine, but when Shinon was walking with Traine and wasn't paying attention, the creature stabbed him in the side. Shinon cried out in surprise and turned around to see it was a completely different person, displaying some kind of shapechanging ability. Shinon drew his sword, but the creature laughed and ran away. Shinon had been badly poisoned by the attack, and almost died as a result. He still bears the scars from that attack today, and every time he moves, he is reminded that there is no guarantee anyone is really what they seem.

5. Shinon feels the most relaxed when he is at the archery range. Taking a few shots with his bow at a target to improve his range and accuracy, with no one there but a few other bow-enthusiasts, now that is the life.

2 Goals-

Spoiler:

1. Shinon believes there is some large conspiracy going on behind all of the recent mysterious activity. His biggest concern is that perhaps the Council of Thieves, long ago disbanded, might have reformed and is attempting to reestablish control over the city. He wants to connect the dots and bring the people responsible to justice before the entire city descends into chaos.

2. Shinon's wounds run really deep, to the point where he has even started pushing his best friend away. I would like to see him slowly start to recover from that, and maybe, by traveling with the group, learn to start trusting people again, at which point he would go and apologize to Traine for holding him responsible for an attack that was not his doing.

2 Secrets-

Spoiler:

1. Shinon has been acting as a vigilante, using unauthorized lethal force to stop some of the petty thefts he's seen on the street. He's worried about getting caught, but he just can't let the people of the city suffer before his eyes.

2. Shinon has been scouted to join the Council of Thieves. His exceptional skill with a bow and his sharp ears and natural stealth have attracted the attention of its members, who sent an assassin disguised as his best friend to attack him, in order to plant the seeds of mistrust and paranoia in him so that his personality would change from naive and carefree to mistrusting and angry, making him the perfect thief. They have not made their move to invite him yet, but have a careful plan to slowly draw him to their side.

4 NPCs tied to Shinon

Spoiler:

1. Traine Bransen- A human noble of about Shinon's age. The pair met when they were young and have been best friends since. Unlike Shinon, who preferred to play with bows and sticks, Traine enjoyed playing with rocks and throwing knives. Traine does not have or need an occupation, and generally spends his time painting landscapes. He is regarded as an up-and-coming celebrity artist and his paintings sell very well at auctions. Since the attacker who stole his disguise attacked Shinon, Traine has taken to wearing a signet ring with his family's crest on it. The ring has his name inscribed on it and is one of a kind, so that if Shinon sees him without it, he'll know it's not really Traine.

Traine is married to a young minor noble human girl named Claire. She is beautiful, but Shinon doesn't know much else about her, as she usually stays within the manor. Shinon has spoken with her a few times, and found out that she and Traine were arranged to be wed by their parents, though Claire does genuinely enjoy their union. She appears to be attracted to Traine's artistic personality and his creativity. Like Traine, Claire has no need for a job, and she spends most of her time on her own hobby, as a jockey in the nobles' horseback races.

2. Krendel- As far as Shinon knows, he is an unnamed human with blonde hair and blue eyes, standing about 6 feet tall and just a few years older than him. Krendel is a thief who has studied a bit of arcane magic, allowing him to use minor shapechanging abilities like disguise self and alter self. When he's not doing jobs, he sometimes watches Shinon from a distance, trying to see how his hatred and mistrust are developing. Sometimes, when Shinon seems to have momentarily forgotten his pain and seems genuinely happy, Krendel will arrange to have a robbery take place right in the street, out in broad daylight, in front of him. Krendel was surprised when Shinon responded with lethal force, but was delighted to see how much pain was in Shinon's face when this happened. Shinon is certainly a work in progress to him, but he expects that after a bit of molding, Shinon will become a master thief and a deadly assassin in the palm of the Council's hand.

3. Roy- A young half-elf child who has been adopted by a noble human family. Roy often runs away from his house out into the city, where he feels more at home. He often complains that his family holds him to unfair standards and that he almost wishes he were still living on the streets, but when Shinon found him, he reached out to him. Shinon gave him a small shortbow and taught him how to draw it, how to shoot it, saying "One day, when you're old enough, you can leave your family's house and come back to the streets. Until then, I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself. That's something your family will never prepare you for." Roy was so happy that someone was actually listening to him, and it turned out, he really did enjoy learning to shoot, though he is still a beginner and still requires lessons from Shinon before he will be anywhere close to skilled at it. After their first lesson, Shinon ruffled his hair and told him to go home. Roy was upset at first, but Shinon said, "As long as you stay well-fed and healthy, I'll keep teaching you. Same time next week?" Roy nodded and went back, a smile on his face. He told Shinon that one day, he wants to be a ranger, just like him. Shinon looks at Roy as a younger brother and would do anything to protect him.

4- Sabrina Reskhart- A fellow mercenary in the city of Westcrown, Sabrina Reskhart is a human female who stands half a foot taller than Shinon. She has short black hair and tan skin, and wears thick, buckled armor made of brown bear hide. She has a massive greataxe strapped to her back, with the deadly side right behind her head.

Sabrina met Shinon when he was 20. Shinon took a job involving a gang of jewel thieves in the bad part of town and mopped them up quickly. However, as he was leaving their hideout with the leader's unconscious body in tow, he bumped into the powerful warrior. Assuming her to be another thief, Shinon drew his bow, readying himself for a fight, but he was shocked when the woman simply frowned and glared at him, calling him a glory thief.

Shinon, confused, told her about how he took this job from the Shark Net Inn, to which Sabrina countered that she had also taken the same job from the same inn. However, Shinon had managed to finish the job before Sabrina had even found the hideout.

Calling Shinon's work remarkable, Sabrina told him that if he ever got in her way again, he'd regret it. And he did. Over the next two years, it seemed like no matter how discrete he was, or how unexciting the jobs he took were, Shinon would run into the enthusiastic hunter. She was always ready for a brawl, the kind of mercenary who attacks without thinking and takes on challenges for the excitement, rather than real need.

Sabrina has paid close attention to Shinon's record as a mercenary. The Shark Net keeps track of each mercenary's work and rates them based on certain performance-related criteria, allowing the clients to select "better" mercenaries for higher prices if they wish. At present, both Shinon and Sabrina are C-level mercenaries. However, because of Shinon's abundance of free time and Sabrina's fierce dedication to her job, they are both at the very top of the C-tier, each one only needing one big job to put them over the edge into the B-range. Sabrina has vowed that the B spot will be hers first.

Sabrina is loud, rambunctious, and competitive. She believes Shinon to be her eternal rival and tries to defeat him in every category she can think up. Unfortunately for her, Shinon is every bit as skilled as she seems to imagine, so for the parts that actually matter, the ratings system, the two are neck and neck, which only fuels her delusions even more. Shinon does his best to try and avoid Sabrina, but if Sabrina sees him, she challenges him to a competition, inevitably. Usually this involves taking whatever job he is on and racing him to finish it first, or even just simple quick challenges like a game of cards, a drinking game, or an arm wrestle.

Sabrina is completely oblivious to Shinon's attitude towards her, believing him to be a passionate warrior just like she is.

3 Memories-

Spoiler:

1. Shinon was really happy the day he got stabbed. The city was beautiful, the world seemed so peaceful, and Traine was even offering to treat him to some expensive baked bread. As the pair walked through the city, a pretty half-elf girl walked past them and drew Shinon's eye. Grinning, Shinon watched her as she walked away, and turned to say something inappropriate but good-natured about her to his best friend, when he felt the blade enter his side. He turned, and Traine was not Traine. He was someone ready to kill Shinon. The poison seeped into his veins, and Shinon dropped to his knees. After that, even when he recovered, the world wasn't a peaceful, happy place. Everywhere Shinon looked, there were people exchanging money in alleys, and other people who were taking money that wasn't theirs. Guys sneaking around and guards who were overworked and tired. Shinon's entire view of his beloved city changed in an instant.

2. Shinon's first memory of Roy is extremely vivid in his mind. When Shinon was walking down the street, he saw a little half-elf boy sitting there crying and pouting. At first, he was going to offer the boy some food, but then he noticed the boy was actually a little chubby, and his hair and face were both well-kept and clean. This kid wasn't homeless, but his parents were nowhere in sight. Shinon's stomach lurched. His eyes quickly darted around to see if he could see the kid's parents. Whoever had done this, they had gone too far now. But the child managed to get some words out from beneath his tears. "My stupid parents! I'm never going back to them!"

Shinon breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't an orphan, he was a runaway. Shinon sat down next to him and smiled warmly. "You know, your mom and dad are probably worried about you." The boy looked up, shocked to see someone actually talking to him. He was a little scared at first, but Shinon's gentle smile calmed him.

Shinon trusted the boy. He helped teach him things and took care of him. Roy was the only person he knew couldn't possibly betray him. The child's innocent face was full of sincerity. The kid probably didn't even know how to lie at all yet. And Shinon wanted to help him preserve his innocence as long as possible. By teaching him how to shoot, Shinon was giving him the freedom he wanted, but closely supervised and in an area where there wasn't any crime for Roy to see, and also insuring that Roy would stay safe in his parents' house when he wasn't with Shinon.

3. Shinon remembers the day Traine asked him to be his best man at his wedding. Shinon was genuinely touched, as he knew Traine probably got hell from his parents when a street urchin half-breed showed up at their fine and proper wedding. But when Shinon looked at Traine as Traine stood there with Claire's hands in his, Shinon knew that his best friend had found true happiness, even with all the problems in their city. Shinon promised himself that he would solve these problems and make the city safe again, for Traine and for Claire, so that they could raise children and walk down the streets together without fear.

DM Questions

Spoiler:

1. How would Shinon react, if he knows or becomes aware of, another party member who is less than "good" or is morally questionable?

Shinon is not a paladin. He does not think of things in terms of "good" and "evil". He would object strongly to the following actions, however: Thievery, murder (not in self-defense), and racism. However, "evil acts", such as creating undead or summoning evil outsiders, do not phase him. Just when those creatures are used for the above purposes.

2. What will it take to earn Shinon's trust given his childhood experience?

This would be very difficult. Someone who openly shares his views, such as a person who would physically step in to stop a theft or a murder with no promise of reward or other selfish reason, would have an easier time gaining Shinon's trust. Someone who saves Shinon's life would definitely get special treatment from him (by special, I mean not as much suspicion).

3. How long has Shinon been in Westcrown?

Shinon was born and raised in Westcrown. He's 22, so he's been living in Westcrown for 22 years. Shinon met Traine when they were both 7 years old.

4. What does he like best about Westcrown?

Shinon's feelings about Westcrown are that the city itself is alive. The noise of the people, and the coming together of different ideals and values, all trying to make themselves heard over each other, is like Westcrown's beating heart, and Shinon likes that the best. He likes to walk around the city, close his eyes, and just listen to passerby and try and hear all of the people at once.

The Shark Net

Spoiler:

The Ranking System is determined by the owner of the Inn, based on customer feedback, difficulty of missions that were accomplished, success to failure ratio, severity of wounds received, and etc. It's maintained by a Ranking Board, which covers an entire section of one of The Shark Net's walls (about 10 feet wide and 20 feet high, but with a big enough font that it's easily legible for someone standing in front of it).

The purpose of the Ranking System is to allow those with skill to assert that skill with some authority, usually to coerce larger pay. However, the clients also can use the System, as they can request a certain tier of mercenary or above only, but if they do so they are required to raise the compensation to the appropriate minimum level.

The Shark Net employs close to 100 trained mercenaries of different races and backgrounds. A good fifty of these men and women are, by metagame terms, 1st and 2nd level warriors, commoners and fighters. These people belong in the E Tier, which is basically the one for casual mercenaries who come along maybe once a month when they need some extra money and don't take the job too seriously (as well as any newbie mercenary who hasn't had a chance to prove himself, though they generally don't stay in E Tier very long).

The mercenaries who take the job seriously but aren't exactly good or experienced at it belong in the D Tier, which comprises about 20 or so sellswords at this inn.

Then there's the C-Tier, where Shinon and Sabrina reign. From here on, I'll explain in purely meta terms. A C-Tier mercenary is someone who can be expected to, with the right resources, time frame, and preparation, take on any CR 5 or below mission and successfully complete it.

The B-Tier, which has only a scant dozen men and women, is for the rough-riders. B-Tier individuals can be expected to deal with any CR 9 or below mission.

The A-Tier has just five members at this inn. An A-Tier mercenary does not accept any mission with a payoff of less than 2000 gp (this is something they agreed upon as a group, it's not a rule, but it helps keep their profits high). An A-Tier mercenary can trounce any CR 14 or below mission, and they generally work together to do it since such missions are, expectedly, rare.

The final ranking, the one for people who sit at the top, is the S-Tier. The S-Tier is for a mercenary who has accomplished something truly outstanding and whose power, skill, and record can never be disputed. The S-Tier individual can be expected to handle any CR 17 or below mission. At the moment, there is only one mercenary at The Shark Net who holds this coveted title. His name is Talkin Coors, and everyone calls him Talkin the Dragon Slayer. He is a half-fiend, and he has never felt the need to hide his devil features.

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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Favored Enemy: Shinon has studied humans extensively, and receives a +2 bonus to Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks made against creatures of the Humanoid (Human) type and subtype. Shinon also receives a +2 bonus to weapon attack and damage rolls made against humans.
Point Blank Shot: +1 to ranged attack and damage rolls when target is within 30 feet.
Track: +1 bonus to Survival checks made to follow tracks.
Wild Empathy: Shinon may make a modified class level check to improve the attitude of a creature with the animal or magical beast type. He takes a -4 penalty to checks involving magical beasts, and automatically fails any attempt if the magical beast's Intelligence score is 3 or higher.
Favored Community: Shinon receives a +2 bonus to initiative checks, as well as to Know (Local), Perception, Stealth and Survival checks made in Westcrown.
Trapfinding: +1 bonus to Disable Device and Perception checks made to find or remove traps. Shinon can use the Disable Device skill to dismantle magical traps.